Survivor producer sentenced to 12 years

Convicted yesterday in Cancún for the 2010 murder of his wife

The former television producer who has spent the past four years in a Cancún jail has been convicted for the murder of his wife in 2010.

Bruce Beresford-Redman, 43, was sentenced yesterday to 12 years for killing Monica Burgos Beresford-Redman during a holiday in Cancún.

The couple were attempting to mend their relationship after Beresford-Redman, producer of several episodes of the reality television show Survivor, had an affair with another woman.

The state prosecutor in the case did not rule out the possibility of an appeal. “We wanted a maximum sentence,” said Gaspar Armando García Torres, which would amount to 50 years.

One media report this morning said defense lawyers would announce an appeal today on the basis of irregularities in the case. There have been accusations by the defense of lost or contaminated evidence.

But Beresford-Redman’s actions following the death of this wife, whose body was found in a sewage lagoon three days after she disappeared from their hotel, aroused suspicion.

He was ordered to remain in Mexico and surrender his passport, but instead he returned to his home in Los Angeles after crossing the border into the United States on foot, and taking a train across the country.

He later surrendered to authorities in Los Angeles after Mexico issued an international warrant.

Barring a successful appeal, Beresford-Redman will serve another eight years in jail, having been locked up for the past four.

The CBS News show 48 Hours aired a report last November on the producer’s life in a Mexican jail, based on footage he had shot. He described his lifestyle as one of “survival mode.”